Style: People: Interview with a Shopper

Interview with a Shopper

Personal shopper and owner of a fabulous haute consignment showroom on New York’s Upper West Side, Lucyann Barry is the kind of fun and stylish girlfriend you want to go treasure-hunting with. Here she shares some of her favorite addresses worldwide, discloses where she recently found a Burberry trench for $15 and explains why Boston’s South End may be the next It shopping neighborhood.

What are some of your favorite shopping cities in the world?

I know they are so obvious but I love New York, and London —they are very creative and directional in terms of art, culture, style and design, particularly London. I love Paris, where I always feel alive and inspired by the art and architecture and of course the Parisian lifestyle. It is also home to some of my favorite flea markets. LA is really great for vintage shopping and also has the Rose Bowl and Santa Monica Airport Flea markets (as you can see I absolutely love flea markets). I love the souks in Marrakech, I could spend days in them…not just looking at the incredible vintage jewelry, hand loomed rugs, beautifully adorned and embroidered babouche slippers but also visiting the slew of stunningly renovated riads and boutique hotels that are scattered in the deepest recesses of the souks.

If you had to pick one neighborhood for great finds in New York and LA, which ones would they be, and which stores would you include on a tour?

NEW YORK: In New York there are several great shopping neighborhoods with fabulous finds but I would have to say that SoHo offers the most exciting mix of eclectic, avant garde boutiques as well as designer stores that are very creative and also very wearable! It is still the most interesting and diverse neighborhood with something to delight all shoppers no matter their taste or budget. It runs the gamut from the avant garde Opening Ceremony (35 Howard St # 1, New York City; 212-219-2631; www.openingceremony.us) to major designers such as Prada, Chanel, Vuitton to the Japanese 45RPM (169 Mercer St., New York City; 917-237-0045; www.rby45rpm.com) with its gorgeous denim and indigo (also the only store in the US besides Barneys to carry Henry Cuir). Soho really is a shopping paradise. A must visit is Kirna Zabête which always has great finds from emerging designers as well as Giambattista Valli, Lanvin and Rick Owens. There is of course Yohji Yamamoto (locations throughout New York City; www.yohjiyamamoto.co.jp), and Marni (159 Mercer St., New York City; 212-343-3912; www.marni.com), as well as the excitement of Howard Street with its cutting-edge boutiques such as the super-hip Opening Ceremony, Ted Muehling (27 Howard St, New York City; 212-431-3825; www.tedmuehling.com), Jil Sander (locations throughout New York City; www.jilsander.com) and De Vera (1 Crosby St., New York City; 212-625-0838; www.deveraobjects.com) for gorgeous jewelry. I could go on and on as there are amazing stores of every kind; apothecaries, gourmet markets, chic restaurants and then there are the fun hole-in-the-wall restaurants like Hampton Chutney (68 Prince Street. New York City; 212-226- 9996; www.hamptonchutney.com).

LOS ANGELES: LA is very spread out so it is more difficult to find just one area with great shops that appeal to different tastes and budgets in the same way that SoHo does. You really need to get in the car and go to a couple of places. The most concentrated designer shopping is of course Rodeo Drive but for more eclectic finds then there is 3rd street’s sublime but subtle Noodle Stories (8323 W 3rd St., Los Angeles; 323-651-1782) where you will find both men’s and women’s shoes & accessories, home products and even stationery. It has the most interesting selection of designers that run the gamut from Martin Margiela, Miyake, 3 Dot and Georgina Von Etzdorf to Mandarina Duck. Down the street is the men’s store Douglas Fir (8311 W 3rd St., Los Angeles; 323-651-5445) which carries beautiful quality clean collections from Martin Margiela, Seize Sur Vingt, Comme des Garçons, Paul Smith and a host of other great lines. On the corner of the same street is OK (8303 W 3rd St., Los Angeles; 323-653-3501; okstore.la), a wonderful gift store with museum-like glassware ceramics and a fabulous selection of books . In LA there are a few stores that I just adore and always visit: Barney’s has the best shoe collection; and well-known Fred Segal, though I much prefer the Santa Monica store. For many years now Savannah (706 Montana Ave, Santa Monica; 310-458-2095; www.savannahsantamonica.com) on Montana Avenue has been one of my favorites; it never fails to inspire me with its great displays and fabulous selection of hard to find designers especially in accessories. It also carries big names such as Nancy Gonzalez.

What has been one of your most priced recent finds recently?

I am still giddy over the Vintage Chanel sautoir necklace: it has to rank as one of my most prized purchases ever not simply for its beauty but also the extraordinary price, I paid $35. At a surplus outlet in San Diego, I found a gold, deconstructed Commes De Garçons Coat which I absolutely love. Then at a temporary Burberry outlet in Las Vegas, a Burberry silver raincoat (a knee lengths traditional trench in silver parachute fabric) makes me shine! And it cost something like $15 to boot! In an LA thrift store I found a 1960’s Gucci carry-on in impeccable condition which cost $5

What are some of your favorite shops abroad?

In certain cities I head straight for the flea markets, whenever I am in Paris I go to Porte de Vaunve and Porte de Clignanacourt; in Santa Fe the summer Flea Market is fabulous (I found a wonderful vintage crocodile bag there), then there is Portobello market in London and I can’t resist the souks in Marrakech. Though its been around forever Colette in Paris never fails to wow as does L’Eclaireur – they constantly have the most interesting and cutting edge designs. In London, Harvey Nichols is still my favorite. But I also love the Japanese store Mujii, which imports everything from notebooks and pencils to furniture and clothing. For home furnishings I love Terence Conran.

What are some destinations that surprised you with the quality of their boutiques/shopping scenes?

Boston: everybody knows that Newbury Street (Louis Boston in particular), is a great shopping area abut I was really impressed by the South End where they have gorgeous privately owned design collections and specialty craft boutiques that sell everything: clothing, jewelry and accessories. Turtle on Tremont carries a spectacular array of local clothing, accessory and modern jewelry designers. I particularly loved Lekker, which carries the most intelligent modern home furnishings that I have seen. Their pieces are stylish, clever and are incredibly useable. You will not find anything similar in New York is more akin to what you would find in London or Paris. South End is reminiscent of SoHo in the 1980s, it is rally eclectic and creative.

Whose style do you admire? Who are your fashion icons?

Audrey Hepburn is my number 1 – she had such elegance and yet a wonderful gamine quality. Though dressed by Givenchy, she found her own style and always looked chic, graceful and yet relaxed. She wore beautiful pieces that always underscored who she is, flattered her figure and never stole her light. Then of course there is Coco Chanel who was a pioneer and revolutionized fashion. She liberated women and introduced “sport dressing”, the famous boucle jacket, the little black dress, she also introduced relaxed fabrics including traditional men’s fabrics and styles. She not just broke the rules she invented new rules of dressing. I am really inspired by how she loved jewelry and mixed faux with real; she wasn’t afraid—for her with jewelry more was less. I definitely subscribe to her view that “fashion fades only style remains the same.” I also admire Kate Moss, she has such an innate sense of style. She is always experimenting and adopting new looks and has a truly effortless casual chic look. Her style instincts are so finely honed that she constantly sets trends.

What inspires your own sense of style?

I am drawn to beautiful things! I love clean lines with an architectural quality and am inspired by exquisite detailing, beautiful tailoring and great fabrics particularly cashmere. I gravitate towards relaxed luxury, unpretentious pieces that look great and have a style quality that subtly unfolds before you. I am always looking for fabulous shapes with the design aesthetic that can bring out who I am without overwhelming. Having said, that I gravitate towards “no pretense” pieces in luxe fabrics that are easy to wear and can be worn just as easily with a Chanel or with a Zara. I also gravitate towards really unusual, special and unique pieces. I love clothes and accessories that have a sense of humor, such as Chanel’s Light Bulb necklace from 1994 and of the light bulb shoe in the 2008 Chanel cruise collection this year.